Corrupted Values

Chapter Twenty - I Would Give Anything

I look out the window to see the sun is now coming up as Andre enters.

“Azaliah,” Andre says as he enters the room.

“Hi Andre.” I say rigidly.

“Ready to go?” He asks flatly.

“I haven’t filled out the discharge paperwork yet.” I answer.

“It’s fine they know you're leaving. I brought you a change of clothes, put them on, then come out, I’ll wait outside the room.” He says before placing a bag on the bed and exiting the room before a nurse comes in to unhook the machine from me. Once she's done, she leaves the room and I start to get up feeling pain rush through me making me hiss out. I take a moment to let it settle before cautiously getting up and digging through the bag. I pull out dark grey sweatpants and a white tank top as well as a bra and underwear. I slowly make my way to the bathroom to change.

I look at myself in the mirror once I put a bra and fresh underwear on and am horrified by the state I’m in. On top of the older bruising from boxing with Zuria, I have dark purple, almost black bruising littering my entire body. I poke at the biggest one on my stomach and immediately flinch. I clamp my eyes shut at the pain. I put the rest of my clothes on as quickly as I can before grabbing an elastic out of the bag and tying my hair in a ponytail.

I brush my teeth before putting the hospital gown on the bed and grabbing the bag. I make my way out of the room, opening the door to see Andre waiting for me. Once Andre sees me, we make our way out of the hospital down to a black car. It’s a quiet drive back to the house, making the drive feel a hundred times longer. After a while, we pull up to the dreadful staircase. I exit the car quickly but carefully to not look pained. Once at the top of the stairs, Zuria comes bursting out.

“Azaliah!” She says in a worried voice.

“Hey Zuria.” I say tiredly.

“How are you? I was so worried.” She says with concern laced in her voice.

“I’m okay. I’m looking forward to a bath though.” I say smiling. Zuria giggles before taking my bag and holding the door open.

“Go up and clean yourself off, and I’ll bring you something to eat.” She says, smiling.

“Thanks.” I say returning the smile before I start my way up the stairs to the second floor. I turn on the water and let the tub fill as I carefully take off my clothes. I look in the mirror as I take out my hair and start brushing it.

“Ugh I look like such a mess.” I say to myself. Once the tub is full, I slowly get in, letting the water consume me.

“Azaliah, I brought you a sandwich. I’m going to leave it on the bed for you.” I hear Zuria say before I hear the door to my room close. I close my eyes and slowly let my head go under the water for a few seconds. I open my eyes and wipe as the bubbles from my mouth and nose float to the surface. After a few more seconds, I break the surface of the water as I sit up. I take a breath before cautiously getting out, careful not to bump my bruises off anything. I get dressed in loose clothes and then go into my room and eat my ham and cheese sandwich before lying in bed and quickly falling asleep.

My eyes lazily open to bright light shining down on my face from the wall of windows to my right. I roll over and take my painkillers with water feeling sore. After a while, I hear a knock at my door.

“Come in.” I say.

“How are you holding up?” Zuria asks as she slightly opens the door.

“As good as I can be, I guess,” I say shrugging. Zuria smiles down at me as she sits at the end of my bed.

“Azaliah, what happened to you?” She asks curiously. Out of everyone, Zuria might be the only one I can tell, but should I? I can’t admit it to Nina or Remi. What would they even think of me? Zaira is the only person I trust here.

“You can trust me.” She says sweetly as she puts her hand on mine. I take a breath before sitting up.

“Sergio locked me in a room with three men I have never seen before. They beat me as a lesson,” I say as I look down. My head whips towards the door as Sergio bursts through.

“Zuria, get out. I need a word with my daughter.” He says while looking at me. Zuria looks at me and I give her a smile, assuring her that it will be okay. She reluctantly gets up and walks out of the room, closing the door behind her.

“Azaliah. How are you?” He asks in a concerned voice. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion at the sudden change in emotion.

“I’ll be fine.” I answer.

“Good. I’m sorry I had to do that, but in this life you need to know things won’t be easy on you. You need to act quickly and ask questions later. If not, this life will kill you.” he says sternly.

“I get it.” I say. I sigh before looking down at my hands.

“You’re doing well. Zuria tells me you've picked up on your training well, and you've become strong.” He says, smiling down at me. I look up to meet his eyes and see pride in them.

“Heal up well.” He says before turning and exiting my room.

Over the next few weeks, I heal up and get back into the routine of working out. The bruises are now turning yellow and I’m less sore. Every couple of days, I’m brought down to the cells and forced to kill someone, but it’s getting easier. At first, I got a few kicks and punches for taking too long to follow orders, but now I no longer ask questions or hesitate. I just walk into the room and do as I’m told. The guilt never goes away, and I see every person's face every time I close my eyes, but that’s the choice I made when I moved in with Sergio. It's the price I have to pay, and now it’s too late to go back.

“Azaliah.” A harsh voice says with a heavy knock at the door. I feel my heart stop knowing it's that time of day again. I open the door to Sergio standing on the other side.

“Meet me in the cells.” He says coldly before walking away. For the first couple of days, he seemed to be more interested in me being around, but now he’s back to his cold, emotionless self. What have I done to cause him to treat me so coldly? I ask myself as I holster my gun on my right thigh before heading downstairs to the cells. As I turn to walk down another hallway of doors, I see Sergio standing next to an open door. He motions for me to enter the room. I take my gun out, knowing what's to come. I enter the room to see a man sitting in a chair beaten. I walk up behind the man while he faces the wall.

“Shoot.” Sergio demands as he stands in the doorway. I put my gun to the back of the man's head and pull the trigger. I would give anything to just be at home with mom again. When I turn around to face Sergio, he's gone. I exit the room and make my way back to my room to shower. I take off my bloody clothes and turn on the water to shower. I step into the hot water and let out a shaky breath. I close my eyes as I stand under the water and let out quiet sobs as I drown in guilt for what I’ve done.